Schedule, Routine, Order, Structure, Habit

These are words that have been bouncing around my mind lately. I need these in my life. I wrote a while back about my New Year's resolutions, one of which centered on a theme of stress reduction. I need less stress in my life. Or at least better tools to manage it. The past 4-6 months have not been healthy, stress-wise, and as a result I've been sleeping terribly and my immune system is shot. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired, so it's time to take control of the situation.

During the week my time is limited, as is my energy. On the weekends, when Nathan goes down for a nap, I feel immense pressure to make the most of that time and knock a bunch of things off my to-do list. But as soon as I think about that list, I feel very overwhelmed by everything I need to be doing (working out more, getting Nathan signed up for swim lessons or some other activity, developing a better family budget, organizing photos, finishing decorating now that the majority of the renovation is over, working on my master's thesis, cleaning... oh the cleaning...). And then I end up either trying to do too much at once (and therefore doing nothing very well or to completion), or give up entirely and sit on the couch instead. And then I'm stressed because I made no progress whatsoever.

Yesterday I came across a blog post that one of my FB friends had shared on her timeline (not her blog) about regular cleaning schedules and routines. I randomly clicked on it and started reading. The author is a mom with three small children who also works outside the home. She writes about a concept called "household management" and shares not only her own personal observations and philosophies, but invites readers to share theirs as well. The site as a whole is a bit overwhelming for me (but then again, just about anything feels overwhelming right now because I'm STILL sick and not sleeping well). But the post my friend had initially shared caught my attention and just might be the start of something new for me to try:

Daily and weekly cleaning schedules. I am not a neat freak. At the same time, I don't really think I'm a slob either. I guess I'm probably somewhere in between. But lately, I've felt like I'm losing the battle when it comes to clutter. And I definitely think I need to step it up a bit in terms of basic dirt-and-grime removal (especially during the winter when we're all trapped inside and sharing germs). I've always been a sort of binge-cleaner. Once a month (or maybe more like every other month) I'll do a massive deep clean. I'll work all day until I'm sore and exhausted but everything is finally clean and sparkling and then I'll collapse in a heap and hope that it stays that way for longer than an hour. Same with clutter. Every few weeks I'll go on a de-cluttering rampage where I literally charge all over the house picking up and putting away all the STUFF that has piled up everywhere.

This is not working for me. The results of my binge-cleaning and de-cluttering are too short lived and then I'm right back where I started. I don't mind a little clutter or a bit of dust, but I do need to not feel overwhelmed when I find I have an extra 30 minutes that I could devote to cleaning or organizing. I need to feel empowered to make the most of the short scraps of time and actually see results that help reduce my overall stress level. I need plan to do this. I need to have a routine, a schedule that tells me what to tackle and when. And then when I've finished whatever is on the docket for that day/time, I can allow myself to sit for a few minutes. Maybe watch a show or work out with my husband without feeling guilty because the kitchen is a mess and we are out of clean underwear again. I need small but doable steps that, over time, get me to the goal of a reasonably clean(ish) and organized house.

I'm not sure quite yet what this schedule will look like for me. I'm still reading examples on the blog and figuring out what will or won't work for our house. But I do know that I've stumbled on something that makes sense to me. Something that I desperately need and want to make work so I can start to reduce the stress just a bit. I feel like stress reduction is a ripple effect anyway. If I can have a positive impact by doing one thing (implementing a cleaning schedule and plan), then I'll have more time and energy for other stress-reducing things (working out, relaxing), and so on.

That's my hope anyway. I leave on Wednesday for my girls' trip with my BFF. My goal is to start whatever this new plan will be when I get back!

Sick... AGAIN

Stress has always been a trigger for lowering my immune system (as it is for most people). For me though, the combination of stress + poor sleep means I'm doomed. I've been sick 3 times so far this season, which is just absurd. My last post, in fact, I was sick. And here I am again... sick. Ugh!

Thankfully, Nathan has managed to steer clear of it for the most part. Until this time. We're both sick. I am fairly certain it's just a bad cold or at most a sinus infection. But there's been a lot of strep throat going around (several people from my office and/or their kids have had it), so I'm just really hoping and praying we aren't headed down that road.

Nevertheless, it has been a miserable weekend. Nathan started acting like he was getting sick Thursday. I woke up Friday with a sore throat and itchy eyes. Nathan was congested all day and by Friday evening I was sneezing up a storm. Saturday Paul was on shift (of course) so it was just me and Nathan at home all day, miserable and cranky and sick. I had thought we were going to have a fun Nathan-and-Mama Saturday, but needless to say, that didn't really pan out like I'd hoped. We did make cookie monster (blue) cookies. And since the temperature outdoors actually rose into the 30s for the first time in days, I did give in to his pleading and bundled us up for an hour's playtime outside. I've never put much stock in that cold air makes you sick, besides which, we were ALREADY sick and he so badly wanted to run around in the snow...

I'm just SO ready for the winter to end. Unfortunately, it's going to be a while still. I honestly don't mind snow, but the bitterly cold temperatures and icy, windy stuff is starting to get to me. Which is why, in just 10 days, I'm escaping!

My BFF is moving out of state in April and we've been talking about a girls' trip to New Orleans for a while now. About a month ago, she spotted a crazy-good sale on Southwest for round-trip tickets. We leave March 4 for three nights! I can't wait. I'm very grateful to my husband for agreeing that I could go, and to my in-laws for helping out with the little man when Paul goes to work.

I'm also a little nervous. Three nights is the longest I will have been away from Nathan. I know he'll be fine. And it will be a good stepping stone for when we go to Hawaii for a week in August for an adults-only getaway with Paul's BFF and his wife. Yikes!

Lots of fun things to look forward to in the coming weeks and months... Now, if I could just get the stress and sleep situation under control so I stop succumbing to every germ that crosses my path. I should probably write a whole separate post on that, but my head is pounding so I'll leave it at that for now. Time for some hot tea and more cough drops...